She hid a smile at his accusation, since she’d just been wondering the same thing. “When I left home this afternoon, it was not storming. And I don’t believe I am daft, merely desperate. May I please come in before you ring a peal over my head? Afterward you may scold me as much as you like.”
Hawkhurst made a soft sound of disapproval in his throat, something like a growl, but stepped back to allow her entrance. As she moved past him, he glanced out at the darkening courtyard below, which was nearly obscured by rain. “Where is your carriage?”
“I took the liberty of sending it around to your stables. My horses and grooms needed shelter. I felt certain you would want my horses safe. Perhaps you should shut the door,” Skye added sweetly. “Rain is gusting in and flooding your marble floor.”
He stared at her again for a moment, as if not crediting her boldness. Then, curtly acting on her suggestion, he closed the door and blocked out the storm before turning to face her.
The hall was quieter now, although still echoing dully from sheets of rain lashing the manor.
Skye smiled up at Lord Hawkhurst. “I do beg your pardon, my lord. We got off on the wrong foot. May we start afresh? I am Lady Skye Wilde, and I am happy to meet you at last. Have you not heard of me?”
“Yes, I have heard of you.” He did not look pleased by the fact.
“I thought Aunt Bella might have mentioned me. You and I are practically family.”
He gave her another frowning glance, this one rife with skepticism. “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”
“Well … we are not related by blood, but my aunt has known you for ten years. You and she are such good friends, I feel as if I know you myself. And you are acquainted with my elder brother, Quinn Wilde, the Earl of Traherne. I was never officially introduced to you, but I saw you once a long time ago, when you and your wife attended a ball at our home, Tallis Court in Kent. I was the girl hanging over the banister, watching the dancers below.”
Even in the dim light, she could see recognition dawn in Hawkhurst’s eyes.
“I am flattered that you remember me,” Skye said honestly. “Except for a brief moment, you paid no attention to me that evening.”
“I feared you might be in need of rescue.”
Skye felt her cheeks warm at the reminder. She’d been watching the glittering company with her cousin Katharine from the gallery above the ballroom. When the devastatingly handsome Lord Hawkhurst had looked up at her and smiled, her heart had instantly melted. Stricken with awe, she’d nearly tumbled over the railing. The earl had leapt closer, prepared to catch her and break her fall if necessary. Fortunately—or unfortunately, Skye had thought at the time—her cousin’s quick action in grasping her skirts had saved her from disaster.
Uncomfortable awareness flooded Skye. This was twice now that she had almost fallen at his feet. How embarrassing to appear so awkward with a nobleman she wanted earnestly to impress.
“I am not usually so clumsy, I promise you.”
He did not seem interested in prolonging their discussion. “What brings you here in the midst of a storm, Lady Skye?”
His abruptness was rather unmannerly, but given her unexpected arrival, she could forgive him.
“My aunt wrote me a letter of introduction and explained my purpose to you.…” Fishing in her reticule, Skye pulled out a folded letter that was a bit worse for wear and presented it to him. “Please, will you read this?”
Hawkhurst broke the wax seal but barely glanced at the contents, perhaps because it was difficult to read in the scant light. When he made to move closer to the wall sconce, Skye spoke up. “Is there a fire where I may warm myself?”
He hesitated before finally replying. “There is one in my study. Follow me.”
When he strode off across the entrance hall, she hurried to keep up with him and found herself eying his tall, athletic form with admiration. He was dressed informally—white linen shirt, buff breeches, and riding boots—and the way his clothing clung to his broad shoulders, lean hips, well-formed buttocks, and muscular thighs emphasized his stark masculinity. It was brazen to admit, Skye knew, but the intense physical attraction she felt for Hawkhurst now was much less pure than when she was a mere girl.
She was also brazen to call at his nearly deserted country estate when no one suitable was present to act as chaperone. Yet to attain her heart’s desire, she needed to be bold and daring. She would not let the risk of scandal deter her. Courting scandal in their amorous affairs was a Wilde family legacy, and she was a Wilde, through and through.
When they entered a dark corridor, Skye glanced inside the rooms they passed. The fact that the elegant manor was damp and musty from disuse was no wonder, considering that it had been shut up for more than ten years. But the furniture was still shrouded in holland covers.
“I expected you to have servants to answer your front door,” she commented to the earl’s back.
“The elderly man who acts as caretaker is hard of hearing and didn’t heed your pounding.”
“But I understood you arrived here a full week ago. I thought by now you would have tried to set the castle to rights.”
Only after another pause did he answer her probing remark. “I haven’t yet arranged for a full-time staff. Some women from the village came today to begin cleaning, but with the storm approaching, I sent them home before it grew too dark.”
“That was kind of you.”
Hawkhurst made another low sound of dismissal in his throat and kept walking.